*Annotated Bibly,
-Evaluate the authority and background of the author
-comment on the intended audience
-compare and contrast this work with another you have cited
-explain why your source illuminates your piece.
Batt argues on Malory’s focus on rape through Lancelot. She brings up points that Malory himself had been suspected of raped during that time period and refutes another writer's claims otherwise. She draws parallels between Malory and his characters in Le Morte D’arthur. I am covering the topics of chivalry, rape, and feminism in the Arthurian tales. I will be using this article to help illuminate the relationship as to why there was so much violence towards women when the knights were held to the code of Chivalry which featured a rule against harming women. I also will explore how the code of Chivalry may also have contributed to this idea of women as rewards for deeds.
This article focuses entirely on Guinevere who is arguably the most recognized female character along with Morgan Le Fay. She therefore represents the “feminine” of the stories and by tracking her treatment by other characters, specifically why she was almost burned at the stake. (Affair with Lancelot) I will be using this to focus on the feminism aspect of my essay and tying it in with chivalry and violence against women. Her role in the story is much the soft feminine aspect as she is acted upon while Morgan acts upon others.
Article 3
Fries, Maureen. "From The Lady to The Tramp: The Decline of Morgan Le Fay in Medieval Romance." Arthuriana 4.1 (1994): 1-18. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
This article focuses on the character of Morgan le Fay through various literatures and how she is represented. It gives a clear idea of how her archetype as a “powerful” female character switches roles from the ambiguous one in Le Morte D’arthur where she sleeps with her brother and plots to overthrow him, to her roles as a teacher/healer in other works. How her arcane gifts of necromancy and “evil” could have been tainted by the patriarchal fear of powerful women. I wish to compare her to the more passive and victimized Guinevere and how the code of chivalry had affected them both if at all as they represent the feminine whole of that time period.
Summary of Text
Le Morte D’arthur is the story of a young boy turned king via a magical prophecy and his knights adventures. Arthur is the adopted son of Merlin the wizard who pulls the sword from the stone signifying that he is the next king of England. He goes to war with many people at Merlins advice and creates the knights of the round table. He fathers a child named Mordred with his sister who later becomes one of the greater enemies throughout the story. He falls in love with Guinevere who cheats on him with the disgraced then redeemed knight Lancelot. Morgan le Fae, Lot, and ten other kings try to steal the throne from Arthur but are all defeated. Later in the novel Arthur fights against the Romans for England and though it is a hard battle the knights of the round table do win. Later on they discover the Holy Grail and seek to claim it while only Galahad is deemed worthy of the grail. Guinevere has an affair with Lancelot and Arthur attempts to burn her at the stake for it. She is saved by her lover who is then targeted by Arthur and Gawain because he murders Gawains brothers. While Arthur is busy Mordred his estranged son takes over the throne of England steals Guinevere and then attacks Arthur. Gawain warns Arthur not to pursue the battle further in his dying moments but due to misunderstanding Arthur continues the battle to defeat his son and is mortally wounded in the process. Arthur dies rather plainly and so does Lancelot and Guinevere soon after. Constantine becomes king of England and the knights of the round table are dispersed.
Quotation close reading 1
“But when Queen Morgan wist that Accolon was dead, she was so sorrowful that near her heart to-brast. But because she would not have it were known, outward she kept her countenance, and made no semblance of sorrow.” (Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur pg.106)
The reason I chose this quote is that I find it interesting what a strong female character Morgan is and how she is portrayed as evil. Even though her heart is broken she reveals it to no one as it could be used against her. She could have openly mourned Accolon as would be expected for a lady of this time. Women were perceived to be weaker and more emotional; the fact that Morgan doesn’t show her emotions as a woman of that time shows that she is set apart and this could explain why she is chosen as an enemy of Arthur. Arthur and his knights represent masculinity and the masculine ideals, while Morgan and Guinevere represent the twin sides of feminine ideals, though both equally attacked. Morgan for seeking power and Guinevere for seeking love. Both are punished for desiring more than what the masculine has given them. Guinevere is almost burned at the stake by Arthur. Morgan is demonized and painted as a villain. Both also have some measure of power that is later demonized; such as Morgan’s magical abilities and Guinevere’s “seduction” of a noble knight into betraying his king. Im wondering why Isolde wasn’t also punished in some way.
Quotation close reading 2
“How now, said Sir Tristram, meseemeth it were a pity that my lady should lose her head, but because thou and she of long time have used this wicked custom, and by you both have many good knights and ladies been destroyed, for that cause it were no loss to destroy you both. So God me help, said Sir Brueunor, for to say the sooth, thy lady is fairer than mine, and that me sore repenteth. And so I hear the people privily say, for of all women I saw none so fair; and therefore, an thou wilt slay my lady, I doubt not but I shall slay thee and have thy lady.” (Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur pg. 272-273)
Aside from the fact that it is a horrible idea that you would compare your girlfriends and then cut off the head of the less “fairer” one, this quote is interesting because the only reason Brueunor is upset is because he lost to Tristan. He then goes on to say how its fine because he’s going to kill Tristan and steal Isolde. Neither women have any say in this as both are very literal bargaining chips for the two knights. Tristan states that because the two of them supposedly acted willingly in the death of so many he has no guilt over it and it is just. However more than likely the other lady wasn’t willing and was only used as an object to compare and bring her knight some feeling of superiority. Who then gets her head cut off instead of Tristan using logical reasoning and saying that he wouldn’t participate in the contest as it is barbaric. It can therefore be concluded that in the code of chivalry between two knights that women will always lose even if she dies because of it. A knights triumph over another has more value than a womans life. Tristan very easily lumps the poor woman in with her twisted knight and murders her in a sense of skewed logic.
Check point 3
Article 4
Finke, Laurie A. "No Pain, No Gain: Violence as Symbolic Capital in Malory's "Morte D'Arthur""Arthuriana 8.2, Symbolic and Sexual Economies in Arthurian Literature (1998): 115-34. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
This article covers the violence against women in Malory’s Mort D’Arthur. Women are seen as a sort of commodity in this novel which is explicated upon by Fink and Schichtman. The bring evidence forward from the original text to highlight this. I plan on using this text to also highlight the graphic and widespread violence against women in Le Mort D’Arthur and the demonization of its main female cast verses what makes a true lady.
Article 5
Shichtman, Martin B. "Percival's Sister: Genealogy, Virginity, and Blood."Arthuriana 9.2, ESSAYS IN MEMORY OF MAUREEN FRIES (1999): 11-20.JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
My next article covers Percival’s sister and her role as one of the side female characters in relation to the Arthurian patriarchy. Percival’s sister is a virgin in the text who is sacrificed in order to save another person's life thus lending credence to the theory that women in the Arthurian tales were often the casualties of male politics and chivalry. I plan on using this article in order to back up my view of the main female characters and how they are treated in the Arthurian legends.
Article 6
Fries, Maureen. "THE IMPOTENT POTION: ON THE MINIMIZATION OF THE LOVE THEME IN THE "TRISTAN EN PROSE" AND MALORY'S "MORTE DARTHUR""Quondam Et Futurus 1.3 (1991): 75-81. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
This article covers the story behind Tristan and Isolde in both the French tale and the Arthurian legends. It covers the minimization of romance through a woman where she is often either the victim or the martyr and how the male version of romance is often twisted through their view of chivalry. Tristan and Isolde where romanticized in the French version where Isolde has a stronger role in the story and she actually saves Tristan a few times. However in the Arthurian legends and gold does not actually speak and attack and it focuses on heavily on her being a sort of idol for Tristan during his time as a knight.
Trend in scholarship:
The articles I've been reading have had a focus on the impact of the Arthurian patriarchy on the female figures in the Arthurian legends. My thesis has to do with the demonetization of the female who act upon their own desires through others or themselves and the idolization of females who are acted upon and do not have a will of their own. I'm focusing heavily on Morgan Le Fay, Guinevere, and Isolde. Where each female characters specifically shows a different type of expectation and punishment for the failure of these expectations that the rest of society in this text place upon them. I wanted to find what truly makes the idealistic lady during this in text time period and how it compares with other European cultures that we covered in class. Then how Isolde compares with the virgin idols and how Guinevere compares with the concept of martyred whores. I also wanted to cover why this would be influenced through the religion of the time which was Christianity. I noticed that there are parallels between the concept of virginity and le Morte D’arthur, what we covered in class, and in the articles that I had been finding.
Query on texts:
Some of the questions I had while reading my articles were, why it was so difficult to have a female perspective in le Morte Darthur? And why was it so difficult to find articles on a particular topic? After searching through several databases in order to find my topic I came to Jstor which had plenty of articles on the topic I was looking for. But I couldn't find much on the particular female characters that I was covering other than outside works that weren’t le Morte Darthur. I'm confused as to why feminists perspectives arent usually written about in the academic society unless it's for women's studies class. This essays given me a bit more appreciation for my status as a woman and as a feminist because of the struggle I had finding what I was looking for and the lack of any serious research on Nice female character as opposed to what the characters of Lancelot and King Arthur. Not to mention the fact that Isolde isn’t even given a speaking part at all in the entirety the book and it's a good 700 pages long.
Survey of group: Submitted online
Check point 4
Abstract of Journal article
My thesis is that the main women of the Arthurian legends are separated based on whether or not they act upon their desires or if they are acted upon by the desires of others. They are therefore demonized and punished because they act upon their desires or idealized because they are acted upon. I am using six different articles and the main text in order to highlight and give evidence to my claims in my thesis. I plan on spending at least a page on each of these articles and my evidence as I draw from them as to the three main female characters of Morgan le Fay, Isolde, and Guinevere. I will cover the version of masculinity that is in the Morte Darthur and the version of femininity in the text as well. I want to cover the interaction how femininity has attended the to lose out to masculinity and results in violence toward the feminine aspect or a form of punishment. Such as Guenevere falling in love with Lancelot and her affair with him leading to King Arthur attempting to burn her at the stake. I will cover how Morgan is viewed as a villain in the Arthurian legends and why I believe that this is the case using my articles and source text. There will also cover Isolde as the idealistic virgin lady and her interactions with her knight Tristan with whom she travels with. I also will cover the concept of chivalry in the ideals of masculinity and femininity and how it affects these three characters.
Article 7
WARNER, LAWRENCE. "The Lady, The Goddess, And The Text Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight."Chaucer Review 48.3 (2014): 334-351. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
This article focuses on the characteristics of Morgan le Fay and her various appearances as an archetype. I want to have multiple views of her character so that I can better write about her and compare her to the original text which I am analyzing through a feminist lens.
Article 8
Hodges, Kenneth. "Guinevere's Politics In Malory's Morte Darthur."Journal Of English & Germanic Philology 104.1 (2005): 54-79. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
This article covers Guenevere another female character that I am analyzing and how she is involved in the various politics of her kingdom in the Morte Darthur. Such is her affair with Lancelot, her eloping with the head knight, and though conflicts it causes in the story. As I am covering Guinevere as a character who does have desires and acts upon them and her punishment of her actions through the male figures in the text and how it relates to female influence and the subjective repression of that influence.
Article 9
Hodges, Kenneth. "Wounded Masculinity: Injury And Gender In Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur."Studies In Philology 106.1 (2009): 14-31. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2015
This covers the concept of masculinity in le Morte Darthur and how an affront to this concept was treated through the knightly hood. The importance the concept of masculinity in this text in important to show how the femininity is also portrayed and treated when it stands affront of the masculine ideal. I am using this text to draw parallels so that I can better understand the mindset of the characters in the book and why they act the way they do under certain circumstances.
Erin Haaker
Medievalist for a Semester
*Annotated Bibly,
-Evaluate the authority and background of the author
-comment on the intended audience
-compare and contrast this work with another you have cited
-explain why your source illuminates your piece.
Checkpoint I
TEXT FOCUS: Chaucer (possible)
Checkpoint II
Article 1
Batt, Catherine. "Malory and Rape." Arthuriana 7.3 (1997): 78-99. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
Batt argues on Malory’s focus on rape through Lancelot. She brings up points that Malory himself had been suspected of raped during that time period and refutes another writer's claims otherwise. She draws parallels between Malory and his characters in Le Morte D’arthur. I am covering the topics of chivalry, rape, and feminism in the Arthurian tales. I will be using this article to help illuminate the relationship as to why there was so much violence towards women when the knights were held to the code of Chivalry which featured a rule against harming women. I also will explore how the code of Chivalry may also have contributed to this idea of women as rewards for deeds.
Article 2
Kaufman, Amy S. "Guenevere Burning." Arthuriana 20.1 (2010): 76-94.JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
This article focuses entirely on Guinevere who is arguably the most recognized female character along with Morgan Le Fay. She therefore represents the “feminine” of the stories and by tracking her treatment by other characters, specifically why she was almost burned at the stake. (Affair with Lancelot) I will be using this to focus on the feminism aspect of my essay and tying it in with chivalry and violence against women. Her role in the story is much the soft feminine aspect as she is acted upon while Morgan acts upon others.
Article 3
Fries, Maureen. "From The Lady to The Tramp: The Decline of Morgan Le Fay in Medieval Romance." Arthuriana 4.1 (1994): 1-18. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
This article focuses on the character of Morgan le Fay through various literatures and how she is represented. It gives a clear idea of how her archetype as a “powerful” female character switches roles from the ambiguous one in Le Morte D’arthur where she sleeps with her brother and plots to overthrow him, to her roles as a teacher/healer in other works. How her arcane gifts of necromancy and “evil” could have been tainted by the patriarchal fear of powerful women. I wish to compare her to the more passive and victimized Guinevere and how the code of chivalry had affected them both if at all as they represent the feminine whole of that time period.
Summary of Text
Le Morte D’arthur is the story of a young boy turned king via a magical prophecy and his knights adventures. Arthur is the adopted son of Merlin the wizard who pulls the sword from the stone signifying that he is the next king of England. He goes to war with many people at Merlins advice and creates the knights of the round table. He fathers a child named Mordred with his sister who later becomes one of the greater enemies throughout the story. He falls in love with Guinevere who cheats on him with the disgraced then redeemed knight Lancelot. Morgan le Fae, Lot, and ten other kings try to steal the throne from Arthur but are all defeated. Later in the novel Arthur fights against the Romans for England and though it is a hard battle the knights of the round table do win. Later on they discover the Holy Grail and seek to claim it while only Galahad is deemed worthy of the grail. Guinevere has an affair with Lancelot and Arthur attempts to burn her at the stake for it. She is saved by her lover who is then targeted by Arthur and Gawain because he murders Gawains brothers. While Arthur is busy Mordred his estranged son takes over the throne of England steals Guinevere and then attacks Arthur. Gawain warns Arthur not to pursue the battle further in his dying moments but due to misunderstanding Arthur continues the battle to defeat his son and is mortally wounded in the process. Arthur dies rather plainly and so does Lancelot and Guinevere soon after. Constantine becomes king of England and the knights of the round table are dispersed.
Quotation close reading 1
“But when Queen Morgan wist that Accolon was dead, she was so sorrowful that near her heart to-brast. But because she would not have it were known, outward she kept her countenance, and made no semblance of sorrow.” (Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur pg.106)
The reason I chose this quote is that I find it interesting what a strong female character Morgan is and how she is portrayed as evil. Even though her heart is broken she reveals it to no one as it could be used against her. She could have openly mourned Accolon as would be expected for a lady of this time. Women were perceived to be weaker and more emotional; the fact that Morgan doesn’t show her emotions as a woman of that time shows that she is set apart and this could explain why she is chosen as an enemy of Arthur. Arthur and his knights represent masculinity and the masculine ideals, while Morgan and Guinevere represent the twin sides of feminine ideals, though both equally attacked. Morgan for seeking power and Guinevere for seeking love. Both are punished for desiring more than what the masculine has given them. Guinevere is almost burned at the stake by Arthur. Morgan is demonized and painted as a villain. Both also have some measure of power that is later demonized; such as Morgan’s magical abilities and Guinevere’s “seduction” of a noble knight into betraying his king. Im wondering why Isolde wasn’t also punished in some way.
Quotation close reading 2
“How now, said Sir Tristram, meseemeth it were a pity that my lady should lose her head, but because thou and she of long time have used this wicked custom, and by you both have many good knights and ladies been destroyed, for that cause it were no loss to destroy you both. So God me help, said Sir Brueunor, for to say the sooth, thy lady is fairer than mine, and that me sore repenteth. And so I hear the people privily say, for of all women I saw none so fair; and therefore, an thou wilt slay my lady, I doubt not but I shall slay thee and have thy lady.” (Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur pg. 272-273)
Aside from the fact that it is a horrible idea that you would compare your girlfriends and then cut off the head of the less “fairer” one, this quote is interesting because the only reason Brueunor is upset is because he lost to Tristan. He then goes on to say how its fine because he’s going to kill Tristan and steal Isolde. Neither women have any say in this as both are very literal bargaining chips for the two knights. Tristan states that because the two of them supposedly acted willingly in the death of so many he has no guilt over it and it is just. However more than likely the other lady wasn’t willing and was only used as an object to compare and bring her knight some feeling of superiority. Who then gets her head cut off instead of Tristan using logical reasoning and saying that he wouldn’t participate in the contest as it is barbaric. It can therefore be concluded that in the code of chivalry between two knights that women will always lose even if she dies because of it. A knights triumph over another has more value than a womans life. Tristan very easily lumps the poor woman in with her twisted knight and murders her in a sense of skewed logic.
Check point 3
Article 4
Finke, Laurie A. "No Pain, No Gain: Violence as Symbolic Capital in Malory's "Morte D'Arthur"" Arthuriana 8.2, Symbolic and Sexual Economies in Arthurian Literature (1998): 115-34. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
This article covers the violence against women in Malory’s Mort D’Arthur. Women are seen as a sort of commodity in this novel which is explicated upon by Fink and Schichtman. The bring evidence forward from the original text to highlight this. I plan on using this text to also highlight the graphic and widespread violence against women in Le Mort D’Arthur and the demonization of its main female cast verses what makes a true lady.
Article 5
Shichtman, Martin B. "Percival's Sister: Genealogy, Virginity, and Blood."Arthuriana 9.2, ESSAYS IN MEMORY OF MAUREEN FRIES (1999): 11-20.JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
My next article covers Percival’s sister and her role as one of the side female characters in relation to the Arthurian patriarchy. Percival’s sister is a virgin in the text who is sacrificed in order to save another person's life thus lending credence to the theory that women in the Arthurian tales were often the casualties of male politics and chivalry. I plan on using this article in order to back up my view of the main female characters and how they are treated in the Arthurian legends.
Article 6
Fries, Maureen. "THE IMPOTENT POTION: ON THE MINIMIZATION OF THE LOVE THEME IN THE "TRISTAN EN PROSE" AND MALORY'S "MORTE DARTHUR"" Quondam Et Futurus 1.3 (1991): 75-81. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
This article covers the story behind Tristan and Isolde in both the French tale and the Arthurian legends. It covers the minimization of romance through a woman where she is often either the victim or the martyr and how the male version of romance is often twisted through their view of chivalry. Tristan and Isolde where romanticized in the French version where Isolde has a stronger role in the story and she actually saves Tristan a few times. However in the Arthurian legends and gold does not actually speak and attack and it focuses on heavily on her being a sort of idol for Tristan during his time as a knight.
Trend in scholarship:
The articles I've been reading have had a focus on the impact of the Arthurian patriarchy on the female figures in the Arthurian legends. My thesis has to do with the demonetization of the female who act upon their own desires through others or themselves and the idolization of females who are acted upon and do not have a will of their own. I'm focusing heavily on Morgan Le Fay, Guinevere, and Isolde. Where each female characters specifically shows a different type of expectation and punishment for the failure of these expectations that the rest of society in this text place upon them. I wanted to find what truly makes the idealistic lady during this in text time period and how it compares with other European cultures that we covered in class. Then how Isolde compares with the virgin idols and how Guinevere compares with the concept of martyred whores. I also wanted to cover why this would be influenced through the religion of the time which was Christianity. I noticed that there are parallels between the concept of virginity and le Morte D’arthur, what we covered in class, and in the articles that I had been finding.
Query on texts:
Some of the questions I had while reading my articles were, why it was so difficult to have a female perspective in le Morte Darthur? And why was it so difficult to find articles on a particular topic? After searching through several databases in order to find my topic I came to Jstor which had plenty of articles on the topic I was looking for. But I couldn't find much on the particular female characters that I was covering other than outside works that weren’t le Morte Darthur. I'm confused as to why feminists perspectives arent usually written about in the academic society unless it's for women's studies class. This essays given me a bit more appreciation for my status as a woman and as a feminist because of the struggle I had finding what I was looking for and the lack of any serious research on Nice female character as opposed to what the characters of Lancelot and King Arthur. Not to mention the fact that Isolde isn’t even given a speaking part at all in the entirety the book and it's a good 700 pages long.
Survey of group: Submitted online
Check point 4
Abstract of Journal article
My thesis is that the main women of the Arthurian legends are separated based on whether or not they act upon their desires or if they are acted upon by the desires of others. They are therefore demonized and punished because they act upon their desires or idealized because they are acted upon. I am using six different articles and the main text in order to highlight and give evidence to my claims in my thesis. I plan on spending at least a page on each of these articles and my evidence as I draw from them as to the three main female characters of Morgan le Fay, Isolde, and Guinevere. I will cover the version of masculinity that is in the Morte Darthur and the version of femininity in the text as well. I want to cover the interaction how femininity has attended the to lose out to masculinity and results in violence toward the feminine aspect or a form of punishment. Such as Guenevere falling in love with Lancelot and her affair with him leading to King Arthur attempting to burn her at the stake. I will cover how Morgan is viewed as a villain in the Arthurian legends and why I believe that this is the case using my articles and source text. There will also cover Isolde as the idealistic virgin lady and her interactions with her knight Tristan with whom she travels with. I also will cover the concept of chivalry in the ideals of masculinity and femininity and how it affects these three characters.
Article 7
WARNER, LAWRENCE. "The Lady, The Goddess, And The Text Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight." Chaucer Review 48.3 (2014): 334-351. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
This article focuses on the characteristics of Morgan le Fay and her various appearances as an archetype. I want to have multiple views of her character so that I can better write about her and compare her to the original text which I am analyzing through a feminist lens.
Article 8
Hodges, Kenneth. "Guinevere's Politics In Malory's Morte Darthur." Journal Of English & Germanic Philology 104.1 (2005): 54-79. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
This article covers Guenevere another female character that I am analyzing and how she is involved in the various politics of her kingdom in the Morte Darthur. Such is her affair with Lancelot, her eloping with the head knight, and though conflicts it causes in the story. As I am covering Guinevere as a character who does have desires and acts upon them and her punishment of her actions through the male figures in the text and how it relates to female influence and the subjective repression of that influence.
Article 9
Hodges, Kenneth. "Wounded Masculinity: Injury And Gender In Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur." Studies In Philology 106.1 (2009): 14-31. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2015
This covers the concept of masculinity in le Morte Darthur and how an affront to this concept was treated through the knightly hood. The importance the concept of masculinity in this text in important to show how the femininity is also portrayed and treated when it stands affront of the masculine ideal. I am using this text to draw parallels so that I can better understand the mindset of the characters in the book and why they act the way they do under certain circumstances.